Aug 24 2008
Freedom!
It might seem like a small thing but I recently liberated myself from a most annoying clutter problem in my house. It took some time to work up the nerve but I finally did it - and I feel great!
Since I love books I began collecting them early for my son. By the time he was born he already had the beginnings of a great library with books ranging from newborn (those touch & feel books) to books intended for older kids. A family member gave me some of those racks that hang on the wall so the books can be displayed with the covers out for my son to peruse at his leisure. I painted the racks to match his oh-so-adorable baby furniture and I’ve been admiring my handwork ever since.
I first noticed the problem when he became old enough to get the books out himself. The beautiful dust jackets that adorned his hard cover books started appearing all over the house. I quickly found one that had been torn almost all the way through and tossed it. I felt a little guilty but it was ripped after all. My husband saw it in the trash and questioned me - which only increased my guilt.
At some point I got really tired of fighting them and I took them all off and put them in a drawer in my son’s room. That way I’m not throwing them out but they also won’t be all over the house. A nice compromise. Until I needed the drawer space, that is.
Today, I threw away the dust jackets. All of them. I feel no guilt, just a sense of cleansing and the Buddhist glory of non-attachment. Finally, no longer do I have the double clutter of books and jackets scattered all over the house! What liberation!
